船舷 (chuán xián) — the side or railing of a ship; gunwale; bulwark

Definition

noun
the side or railing of a shipgunwalebulwark
Easily confused

Examples

  • 船舷。
    Tā zhàn zài chuán xián shàng xiàng yuǎn chù tiào wàng.
    He stood on the side of the ship and looked into the distance.
  • ，船舷。
    Fēng làng hěn dà, hǎi shuǐ dǎ shàng le chuán xián.
    The wind and waves were strong; seawater splashed onto the side of the boat.
  • 船舷。
    Yóu kè kào zhe chuán xián pāi zhào liú niàn.
    Tourists leaned against the railing to take souvenir photos.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

船chuánboat
舷xiánside/railing

The 船 boat and 舷 side or railing give the side of a boat.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
舟舟zhōuboat
Sound part声符shēngfú
㕣
㕣㕣船
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

船 pairs 舟 (boat) with 㕣 for its sound.

Open 船 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
舟舟zhōuboat
Sound part声符shēngfú
玄
玄xuán舷xián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

舷 combines 舟, showing a boat, with 玄, giving the sound xuán.

Open 舷 →

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